FEATURE ARTICLE: MORE FAQS

Since it proved to be a HOT HOT thing, I’m answering more questions this month. As usual again, the questions are presented the way they came in, broken English, grammar errors and all. Enjoy!

QUESTION:

Dear Azizi

I stumbled across your free e-zine offer and signed up. I am impressed with what you have sent to me so far and looking forward to reading more of such staff. I do read a portion of your book, the one where you were free diving, but was too unwise not to buy it.

However, since I am going for my hajj, this will have to wait. But I want to start a new in terms of my money management/ investment situation when I come back. Your bestseller workshop also sounds interesting.

For a start I need your advise on:

1. I have a property in a location where there are so many unsold house (Bandar XX) and the value are below the purchase price. I think the only way is to sold it off and cut my losses. What’s your view?

2. Any advise on mutual funds investment?

3. What would be a good first book that I should buy on investment/money management? Any one of your titles.

Thank you Sir.

ANSWER:

Thank you for the kind words.

1. Yes, selling off the property would be a good move. Since the value is below the purchase price, you would be incurring a loss by doing so. Don’t be too upset or worked up by this. It is much better to sell of the property, accept the loss, learn the lesson and move on with your life rather than keeping it and hurting you every month (when you pay off the loan). Everyone loses money when they sell their car but no one blinks an eye. However, a lot of people actually lose sleep if they incur a loss on their property. It doesn’t even compute. Property is an investment. And like any other investment, you can make money and you can also lose. If you do lose, sell it and move on. Of course, make sure you don’t repeat the same mistake again!

2. Refer to my Handbook ‘Unit Trust Investment’/Pelaburan Unit Amanah’.

3. A good first book about money matters is ‘Millionaires are from a different planet’.

QUESTION:

Dear Azizi,

I’m very excited reading your books especially on property, i’d read more than twice. Now i’m ready to do practical from all knowledge i’d learn from your books.

Q: Can you please specify which bank do not have lock-in period more than 5 years in agreement. Meaning that we can do refinance as soon as once complete change name for auction house? I’d check a few banks but all have lock-in period 5 years.

Q: By procedure, is it really we can claim back all unpaid maintanance fee, cukai pintu, cukai tanah etc by the previous owner? Claim to whom? Because i’d check with bank and said normally it’s consider ‘buy as it basis’ and not sure can claim or not. I afraid it can’t claim because i’d check my targetted auction house have more thank RM10k outstanding bill!

ANSWER:

1. Let me first answer why banks have a lock-in period. To attract new clients, banks offer an interest rate that is below the prevailing BLR. Obviously, this low interest rate period can be offered for a short term only (usually 1 to 5 years). If it lasts for a long time, it would not be to the bank’s interest, and they might actually lose money on the deal. So they came up with the lock-in period: a fixed time where the customer can enjoy the lower interest rate. If the customer settled the loan before that term is up (and they can do so anytime), the interest rate will revert to the prevailing rate charged by the bank. The bank may even charge you a penalty, which may be a percentage of total loan applied.

2. So while I’m unable to tell you which banks are currently not having a lock-in period, I can tell you that all you need to do is find a loan (not a bank) with an actual prevailing interest rate. That particular loan will not have lock-in period.

3. The situation will depend on the terms inside the Proclamation of Sale (auction contract). If it is stated that you can claim back the fees paid, then you can do so. As to ‘from who’, it will depend again on what is stated inside the contract. Of course, if it says that you cannot claim back anything, then you will not be able to claim anything. Which is why you must study the auction contract before bidding for the property. You must still settle ALL the outstanding dues though, whether they can be claimed back or not.

4. I must add that most if not all auction properties have some outstanding bills that must be settled by the purchaser before he can take over the title. This comes with the territory. So while you can make good money from auctions, make sure you are aware of ALL the traps before venturing into it.

QUESTION:

salam encik azizi ali…

saya nak minta bantuan encik mengenai penjualan tanah.dah puas saya mencari orang untuk menbantu saya tetapi xdapat. saya nak tau sangat procedur menjual tanah, maklumat2 yang patut supaya saya tak tertipu sebab saya diamanahkan utuk menjual tanah ini… saya harap sangat tuan azizi dapat membantu saya…

ANSWER:

1. Sebenarnya proses untuk menjual hartanah tak susah. Cari pembeli dan setelah menemuinya, jumpa peguam yang akan mengendalikan SEMUA proses dan prosedurnya. Seorang peguam yang selalu mengendalikan proses jual beli hartanah akan dapat menerangkan prosedurnya. Kebanyakan, walaupun tak semua, peguam akan dapat membantu anda dalam hal ini. Jika anda mahu, saya boleh ‘rekomen’ dua tiga orang peguam yang boleh membantu anda dalam hal ini. Sila e-mail atau telefon pejabat saya.

2. Kalau nak tahu lebih lanjut lagi, baca buku saya Bagaimana Hendak Menjadi Jutawan Hartanah.

QUESTION:

Tuan,

boleh terangkan apa yang berlaku dengan krisis ekonomi dunia terutamanya di Amerika? dan kesannya ke atas negara kita serta diri kita sendiri? Jika ianya dilihat memberi kesan adakah langkah2 pertahanan yang mungkin perlu dibuat selain
dari apa yang tuan telah buku kan.

Sekian, terima kasih

ANSWER:

Ianya akan memerlukan jawapan yang berjela jika saya hendak terangkan dengan terperinci tentang krisis ekonomi dunia sekarang. Saya boleh tulis sebuah buku tentang krisis ini sahaja! Bagaimanapun, anda boleh mengetahui cerita dan situasi semasa daripada akhbar dan juga majalah-majalah.

Kesan krisis ini pasti akan melanda semua negara di dunia, termasuk juga Malaysia. Kita tak akan dapat lari kerana tiga negara rakan niaga terbesar kita - Singapura, Amerika Syarikat dan Jepun - sudah di dalam krisis. Bila jumlah import mereka jatuh, kita akan merasa demamnya juga. Antara serius atau tidak sahaja.

Langkah-langkah pengurusan wang tidak bertukar mengikut keadaan ekonomi. Ianya kekal sama: buat duit, simpan duit, labur duit (setelah belajar tentang pelaburan) dan awasi duit. Itu tidak bertukar. Kalau anda hendak tahu dengan lebih lanjut, ulang baca Jutawan Dari Planet Jupiter.

QUESTION:

morning en azizi,

i have been a fan of you ever since i have read your book “Millionaires in me”. It is very interesting reading. I also tried to follow some of your advise that you have highlighted but nevertheless im failed to do so.

As a fresh graduate, im lucky to have accepted to be one of the employer in one of the prominent financial and banking institution in Malaysia. I also have an opportunity to obtained my own credit card as well as other bank credit card with much ease and i bet u know what happen next, im in a shopping spree.

But later i realize that i cant go on like that and i make a decision to pay-off all my credit cards outstanding by applying for a personal loan. I manage to get my loan approved and my cards temporarily clean.

But like i said, it is only temporary….

i cant keep it clean long enough, so i am collecting again my cards outstanding…

And now with all the Late Payment Penalty Interest as well as the rule from BNM to imposed 1% penalty from total outstanding, i find out that im chocked again.

Now my prime questions to you sir…..

-what should i do now?

-i was thinking of having another personal loan to settle off this problem again, is that the right move?(i swear to myself i would punch a hole in all of my cards and discard them!)

-if having another personal loan is not a good move, than can you advise my any other means of solution?

sorry en azizi, accidently send.
my financial details are as follow:
salary: rm >< 2.5k permonth
cars:$560 p/mth
card:$400p/mth
personal loan:$350 p/mth for 5 yrs
ptptn:$100
other expenditure:$600
(petrol, parking, meals)

there goes my monthly salary..

sometimes also manage to set aside around rm200 for savings..sometimes

please help me by giving some advise. Thank you.

ANSWER:

1. Thank you for your kind words and support. I appreciate it.
2. As I always said, you cannot solve debt problems by taking on more debt just as you cannot cover a hole by digging a bigger hole.
3. In short, don’t take another debt to settle your current debts.
4. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, reread Millionaires are from a different planet/Jutawan Dari Planet Jupiter. I share how you can take control of your finances in a clear step-by-step basis inside.
5. At the end of the day, YOU have to take control of your finances because NO ONE else is going to do it for you. I can write the best books on personal finance but it is you who have to carry the steps out.
6. If you don’t do something, you’ll be having the same problem 30 or 40 years from now. Are you willing to suffer that long?

. QUOTE OF THE MONTH

Happiness is not in the mere possession of money; it lies
in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort.

*Franklin D. Roosevelt*

. YOUR QUESTION ANSWERED

QUESTION:

Hi Azizi,

Thankyou for the book sale which open the door to the public for better access to increase knowledge on financial matters.

I was reading a prospectus of unit trust last night and was not clear the difference in the terms used ie some of the fund categorised as CAPITAL GROWTH whereas some as CAPITAL APPRECIATION …

Any difference in terms of INCOME, CAPITAL, DIVIDENT, DISTRIBUTION?

Grateful if you can kindly enligthened in lay terms.

ANSWER:

1. Capital growth is capital appreciation.

2. There is a few different explanation for Income. It could mean income earned by the fund or income paid to unit holders. Or it could mean an Income fund, where the objective of the fund is to pay out dividends on a consistent basis to the unit holders.

3. The same explanation applies to Capital. However, it is likely that the capital here refers to the money you invested into the fund.

4. Dividend is the money the fund pays out to unit holders. Normally the dividend is taken from the profits earned by the fund.

5. Distribution is another way of saying dividend.

6. Incidentally, this habit of using all encompassing terminologies is quite normal of prospectus. I suppose the powers-that-be believe that “If it is hazy enough, people cannot blame if we fail to perform.” A case of the weather man reporting “Hujan renyai di sana sini”. If we complain that there’s no rain here, they retort that the rain is over there. If we complain that there’s no rain over there, they turn around and say that the rain is over here!

* HOT TIP *

Read “Top Money Tips For Malaysians” by K.C. Lau